have their cupcakes and graduate too.

I heart cupcakes.

I heart making cupcakes even more.

I will find any reason to make cupcakes.

So when I talked my son's kindergarten teacher into letting me bring in some graduation cupcakes, I was absolutely thrilled.

Here's what you have to do:

First things first.

You will need to enlist the help of a great sous chef.

Luckily, I had to look no further than little sister.

She has all the right qualifications.

She has a new found love of climbing on chairs {or anything, for that matter}, she loves flinging batter all over the cupboards, she loves her brother more than anything {the recipient of the cupcakes}, she is so much fun to be around, and most of all, she loves to help her mama.

With the help of that amazing sous chef, you will end up with some buttery, melt-in-your-mouth vanilla cupcakes.

Swirl on some sweet, fluffy marshmallow butter cream frosting.

Add some sparkle and a pop of color with rainbow Decorettes.

Poke in a festive cupcake pick.

Find yourself an eager taste tester.

{Yes, he has his mother's sweet tooth.}

You end up with one extremely happy {almost} 1st grader.

Oh yeah.

The teacher ends up with a hyper little bunch of kindergartners, who probably already have 'summer' brains.

Good luck to her.

Happy Graduation to my little guy and all his pals in Room 11.

paint a prettier picture

I love taking pictures.

At this very moment, I have 1743 pictures on my camera.

They go back all the way to last September.

{I really need to transfer them to disks.}

Did I mention that I put the P in procrastination?

I don't even want to get into how many disks I have.

I finally got all my pictures transferred to disks.

{Yes, even the pre-digital pictures...}

I finally have all my disks arranged in a jumbo CD case, labeled with each event, and organized by date.

I am definitely making progress.

I guess I have always been the girl that always has her camera with her.

Even in high school.

I got really bad after I had my kiddos.

I got bitten by the scrapbooking bug, so maybe that explains a lot.

My family and friends always make fun of me for taking so many different pictures.

I think it is so important to capture every moment possible.

Our kiddos are growing up so fast.

I have blinked, and my son is graduating from kindergarten.

One of my best friends is an excellent photographer.

She is truly gifted.

I am always bugging her to make my pictures a bit more fancy.

I am absolutely obsessed with 'Color Splashing.'

I am always asking her to do this for me.

It looks so cool.

I always love to pull out that one color that makes the photograph pop.

I was playing around on Photobucket tonight, and I finally figured it out.

I will never have to bug my very talented friend again.

Okay, maybe I shouldn't say never.

The 'Color Splashing' I think I have figured out, but there are so many more elements in photography that are quite foreign to me.

I am pretty behind in the times for a twenty-something.

I just found out about blogging.

I know, right??

If you are a bit backward like me, then this is for you.

You will need:

A Photobucket account--It's easy, so go ahead an create one.

A steady hand

A pinch of patience.

A bit of time.

What to do:

After you have logged into your Photobucket account, upload any picture you would like to work with.

Once the picture is uploaded, double click on the image to get to the editing section.

Under the edit tab, go to 'see much more.'

Then, go to the Effects tab.

Double click on 'Color Splash.'

This will make your entire photograph black and white.

It will now allow you to use the paintbrush {black dot} to add back the original color to the specific areas you want.

The little box that appears on the screen will help you control the size of your paintbrush, allow you to zoom in and out of the picture, and make it possible for you to add color or the black and white effect.

Take your time.

Make your photographs even more beautiful.

Make sure you take a few extra moments and explore Photobucket.

You can do so many things to your photos.

They even have glitter text!

Enjoy!

Have a beautiful week.

my sidekick is 19 today

My parents' told us they had a surprise for us.

We thought we were getting a pool.

Instead, we got a baby brother.

I was ten years old when he arrived.

We called him our little turtle.

He was so cute.

When he was a little boy, he was my sidekick.

He used to follow me everywhere.

When he was scared, he would snuggle next to me in bed.

I took him to baseball practice.

He would sit with me and hang out while I did my hair and make-up in preparation for my Saturday night date.

I took him to the movies.

{He will tell you I was on my cell phone the whole time until the movie started and people shooshed me.}

{I was a teenager.}

{Enough said.}

I took him out on my dates with me.

I used the money from my first job to proudly buy him his first fancy watch.

Then, he grew up.

And I got married.

We always picked him up and he would spend the day with us.

He became best friends with my hubby.

{They seriously call each other 'brother bear.'}

I used to tutor him in math.

Then, he moved onto Calculus.

I used to pick him up from baseball practice.

Sometimes, we would spend a Saturday at one of his games.

I wish I went to more of his games.

He's very athletic.

He's an awesome baseball player.

He finally got his driver's license.

Then, he started driving me around and driving himself over to hang out.

In my opinion, he's a little speed demon.

{Don't tell our mom.}

He became an uncle.

My children adore him.

He graduated high school and went away to college.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss him.

We talk almost everyday.

We talk about everything and nothing.

We count down the time until he comes home.

He is the one person who truly enjoys my cooking.

{He eats us out of house and home.}

He has the most gentle spirit and kind heart.

He treats my kids like super stars.

He is a struggling college kid, and he still mailed home treats for my kiddos this past Halloween.

He spent an entire summer watching my son, so that I could finish my on-line courses.

He always has a smile on his face.

He is respectful and generous.

He always laughs at my jokes.

He has always been the most helpful and caring person.

He means the world to me.

He is my brother.

This is the first year in nineteen years that we can not celebrate his birthday with him.

He is sailing through South East Asia on a 'semester at sea.'

I hope he is having the time of his life.

I wish him blue skies and green lights forever.

Happy 19th Birthday, little brother.

I love you.

somewhere over the rainbow

Kelli @ Randow Thoughts of a Supermom totally inspired this colorful little post.

Please go on over and check out her super cool blog.

She truly is one super awesome mom!

She made these really cool rainbow pudding pops that I can't wait to try out with my little loves.

Her rainbow pudding pops made me think about this cake I made awhile back for two of my very amazing friends.

The outside consists of my homemade buttercream icing and Skittles.

I used these Skittles because I really liked how bright, bold, and cheery the colors are.

Plus, they are some seriously mind-blowing flavor combinations.

Mango and Peach.

Blue Raspberry and Lemon.

Strawberry Watermelon.

Yummy.

It's like a party in your mouth!

Here is what the inside of the cake looks like.

Surprise!

The inside is a rainbow of colors too. Here's a better look.

And here's how I did it.

Super easy.

It is a little bit of work and a little bit more dish washing, but well worth the trouble when you see your guests' eyes bug out as you serve them up a slice.

"How did you do that?" will be the question of the day.

And here is just how I did it:

Prepare cake batter as usual.

Then, divide the batter into five different small mixing bowls.

{Here is where the dish washing comes in.}

Each cup will hold about 1-1 1/2 cups of batter.

Add your blue, green, red, pink, yellow, purple, or whatever colors you choose.

One color for each bowl.

You are supposed to layer the batter in a 9 inch round pan and bake it altogether.

I wanted to do separate layers.

{Here is where the bit of trouble comes in.}

I only have one 9 inch round pan, so I baked 5 cake layers 5 different times.

Bake layer...let cool...remove cake layer to cooling rack...wash cake pan...repeat process

Good thing I had a little time on my hands.

Good thing the kids were in bed.

Even better that I was totally captivated by One Tree Hill, and my timer seemed to miraculously go off in tune with the commercial breaks.

Each layer should be in the oven for about 8-10 minutes.

The layers will be thin, so be very careful when removing them from the pan and stacking them.

In between each layer is also my buttercream icing.

Once the cake is all put together, ice the outside.

Then, sit back, relax, and enjoy this eye pleasing and palate pleasing little delight.

Here's to a everyone having a very bright and cheery Friday!!!

just a bit of paradise

I love, love, love summer.

I absolutely love going to the beach.

I adore anything tropical.

My hubby complains because all our vacations so far have been tropical destinations.

He doesn't understand why I don't ever plan our family trip to Colorado or Alaska.

Warm.

Sand between my toes.

Crystal clear, turquoise waters.

A delicious drink with a little umbrella.

That is what I consider a true vacation spot.

Here are a few things that make me feel like I am always surrounded by just a bit of paradise.

This was my little guy's 5th birthday cake.

I get to create a replica of this for my darling nephew, who's 5th birthday bash is this weekend.

His is going to be so cool.

I have found so many more cool beachy cake decorations.

I even found a miniture beach chair with a teeny tiny bottle of sunblock.

Too cute, right?

I love all things mini.

This picture makes me feel like summer is so darn close.

The last thing waiting to be crossed off our list is our last day of school.

I am a teacher, you see, and right about now we are all countin' down, cleaning classrooms, and holdin' on to our last bit of sanity.

Plus, I have been teaching kindergarten.

So, you can imagine how antsy my little people are right about now.

Anyway, this pic makes me smile from ear to ear.

I love watching my loves when they are smiling and having fun.

I love even more when they are having fun together.

Last weekend, we spent an entire day with our best buddies.

Swimming, the smell of sunscreen, slushies, hawaiian pizza, lots of barbecue chips, and good friends.

If that is what our summer is going be like, I can not wait.

Pooping in paradise.

I really wanted my bathrooms to be beachy. Mostly teal and white.

I wanted to find a vintage window so bad.

You know what happens when you want something??

You can never find it.

Then, when you aren't looking for it...

There it is.

So, my hubby had the great idea of making a window.

I love that he always goes along with my shenanigans.

We found this poster at Joann's. It was $5.

It was glossy, so I applied a layer of Modge Podge Matte over it.

Then, we went to Home Depot to find molding.

There are thousands of different widths, styles, and colors of molding.

We settled on a thin, unfinished molding for the outside and a really thin molding for the inside.

I should probably know the specific name of the two styles, but I don't.

I spray painted it white and then sanded it down until it had the vintage look I was going for.

We used a thin piece of board for the backing and glued the poster down.

Of course, we cut it all down to size....the poster, the backing board, and the molding pieces.

Make sure when you are cutting the molding, you need to saw each side at a 45 degree angle.

We used Gorilla Glue to put it all together.

Not to self--Make sure the Gorilla Glue is clear.

As you can see, we used white. It kinda seeped through.

Sheesh, it dries quickly!!!

I wanted to add a little something more, so I found the little twig wreath at Michael's for $3.

My towels and shower curtain are brown and white polka dot, so I had some extra ribbon hanging around.

I thought using the same ribbon would tie it altogether.

It did.

Now, everytime someone is using our guest restroom they can gaze out into paradise while finishing their business.

Fun, right?

I think so.

Can't Wait to Sink My Teeth Into...

It's that time of the year again.

I am very excited.

Vampires are very in right now.

Maybe it's because no one pictured them as so good-looking.

And charming.

And even more mesmerizing.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

I started reading The Twilight Series, written by Stephenie Meyer, soon after having my daughter.

If you haven't heard of it, you must live in a cave...just a joke...

It is everywhere though.

The same week I purchased it, I saw a ten year old girl and a sixty-something year old lady reading it.

You see, my darling daughter was not at all a good sleeper and...

I was having a hard time sleeping in twenty minute intervals throughout the night.

I also am a sucker for a love story.

Bella and Edward definitely fit the bill.

I planned on reading from feeding to feeding.

I blew through the four books in about a week.

So much for pacing myself and making it last those long few months my daughter spent keeping me up all night.

I can not wait for June 30th.

It's a Tuesday night.

My hubby is switching his schedule, so I can take part in a tradition a few good friends and I started two years ago.

We always get yummy take-out, grab our ipods, beach chairs, and sweaters, and camp out for a few hours to see the midnight premiere at our favorite theater.

It is a great night out with the girls.

P.S. I am totally Team Edward!!!

HBO's hit series TrueBlood

After I speed read through The Twilight Series, I was totally captivated by anything vampire.

Then, I stumbled upon the amazingly written series by Charlaine Harris.

It is mysterious, romantic, and quite witty.

I was thrilled to know that HBO was turning the book series into a television show.

It is great.

Very different from the vampire series I originally fell in love with.

But in a good way.

I adore Eric!

Sinister and gorgeous are the first two words that come to mind when describing him.

Sookie is the perfect balance of innocent and quirky.

Lafayette is hilarious and a total diva.

Bill is romantic, gentlemanly, and mysterious.

I love the fact that Mr. Ball takes the books {I have read everyone one of them twice.} and puts an exciting twist when creating each season.

This Sunday {June 13th} can not come fast enough.

Silly enough, my friend Amy and I are having ourselves a little GNI to watch the premiere.

GNI=Girls' Night In

And of course we are going to re-cap Season 2, right??

It takes very little to get me excited these days.

I am content with just being able to have a little obsession of my own.

Bella, Edward, Jacob, Eric, Sookie, and Bill all fit the bill lately.

Hope you all have a fun hobby that you spend your free moments on, a super cool movie you can't wait for, or a much anticipated event you are counting down to.

It helps relieve some of the pressures of life, right?

The Dish on Delicious

I am a total foodie.

I absolutely love food.

Let's just say I am NOT one of those people that 'Eat to Live.'

{Reverse that phrase, and you will have my philosophy.}

I am the girl that is willing to drive 30 miles for a good meal.

I am the girl who plans a vacation around yummy and authentic food of the area.
{and not the tourist attractions}

I am the girl who religiously watches $40 a Day {Rachel Ray} and Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives {Guy Fieri}.

I am the girl who, within the next few days after watching these shows, drags my family to the restaurants featured.

I am the girl all my friends come to when they are looking for a great place to eat, whether it be near or far.

I am the girl who is going to share some of Southern California's best kept secrets with you all.

I am going to be that girl that will introduce you to some triple D action every week.

triple D~ Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives

{I'll definitely try to keep one new place coming every week.}

Tonight, we will visit one of my favorite restaurants here in beautiful Southern California.
I came across this little place when Guy Fieri cruised over to this little spot in Venice Beach for some out of this world barbacue.

Baby Blues BBQ is as down home barbecue as it gets.

They serve kool-aid and fresh brewed sweet tea, for goodness sake.

They have every rib imaginable, cooked to perfection and smothered in their sweet, sweet sauce.

Be sure to ask for their famous XXX Porn Star sauce.

It packs a quite a punch, and they actually make it on-site...in buckets... It is In-N-Out 'animal style' famous.

You are super cool if you know about it when you walk in and ask for it.

So, try it and pass on the knowledge.

We always get the 'Memphis Queen.'

It consists of a generous helping of both the thick, juicy memphis rib {St. Louis Rib} and the fall off the bone babyback rib.

Their side dishes are just as good if not better than their barbecue.
Some of our favorites {and some you can not leave there without trying} are:

the blues on the cob--grilled corn on the cob slathered with chipotle butter, cotija cheese, and garnished with a lime wedge. Make sure you squeeze that lime over the corn. It makes all the difference!!

mac 'n cheese--creamy and gooey on the inside with a crispy, crunchy crust on the outside

cornbread--a big thick slice of moist, buttery goodness. It is more like a delicious piece of corn cake. I love it. It is the exact opposite of the dry, crackly cornbread some of these other restaurants serve.

Paula Deen would be proud of this place.

They are not afraid of flavor and richness.

They know their bbq, and they do a great job of introducing us to some good ol' homestyle southern cookin'.

Don't leave without trying one of their desserts.

I recommend the banana pudding or the key lime pie.

The key lime pie is made with a super sweet and buttery graham cacker crust, and the filling has just the right balance of sweet and tangy with absolutely no bitterness in sight.

The banana pudding is made with Nila wafers, y'all.

It'll make you think of your grandma's banana pudding or in my case, the banana cake and banana milk my mom used to bring to the bus stop when she picked us up as kids.

You can checkout their site here.

Make sure to take a look at this.

It is the actual episode I watched that got me over there in a hurry.

Just click on the link and go to TV & Videos in the top right corner.

It'll make your mouth water, and when you head over to this one of a kind barbecue joint, make sure you get there early.

People literally line up down the block to get a taste.

They just opened up a couple of other locations in West Hollywood and San Francisco.

Try it out.

Tell a friend.
Better yet, treat a friend to lunch.

Their prices are quite affordable and their portions are quite generous.

I hope you are just as refreshed by their sweet tea, just as messy while enjoying their ribs, just as guilty while devouring their mac n' cheese, and just as impressed with Baby Blues BBQ as I have been every single time I have eaten there.

Here are a couple pictures to further entice you and make your tummy growl.

Also, I heart trying out new places.

So, if there is a place that tickles your fancy...

I'd love to try it out too.